The Color Wheel Challenge

Taken from the forum "KS Think Tank!," I'm making chapters based on the color wheel: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and magenta/pink. To mix it up, I'm rolling a die and I put a number for each color so it's random.

Yes, there are seven colors and six sides of a die. :P I rolled six, so that's purple. When I roll six again, it'll be pink.

Note for this story:

It is not modern day. You'll see as you read.

SL

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SL

The annual summer festival was underway.

Sora had braided her hair for the occasion, putting some wild flowers. Her village was small, but fairly close to the town where the festival is held. Her aunt and uncle lived in the town and so she did not have to worry about paying for a room in an inn as she partook of the festivities.

Because of the sun, she decided not to wear her nice multi-layered gown that she recently received and chose something breezier. Her short boots crunched on the dirt as she neared the town. The wooden gates were drawn up, allowing admittance. A few guards with purple sashes looked over the people coming in.

She frowned a little, never having been completely comfortable with them.

In the past she had been stopped by them, having been mistaken for a gypsy. She supposed that her features were not normal to this area and so they had deemed her as a threat, however, they had been relentless in their questioning. She had been ready to tell them off when her uncle finally found her and came inside the town walls with her.

And they wonder why I do not wish to live in the town.

She loved her family but she was fine in the village. She was close to twenty winters; she was more than able to provide for herself with her skills. The barter system in the rural area worked better for her than the coin system within the towns and cities.

An energetic little girl ran in front of her. Sora blinked at the very pale tresses, but smiled as the girl took a firm hold of a man's hand. Judging by the similar pale hair of the man, she took them to be father and daughter.

Her smile waned when a guard halted the pair.

Oh no...

SL

He made sure she was behind him as another guard came to join the one that stopped them.

"What is your business here, foreigner?"

The tone of the guard made the little girl grip the cloth of his trouser. He did not appreciate the treatment thus far from the guard, but attempted to keep his irritation in check.

"My business is my own."

The first guard's eyes narrowed. "We don't allow beggars in the town. Now be off!"

The statement further stirred his ire. Beggars? They were well groomed and clean; he was rather insulted. But before he could say something to that, a voice called out from behind him.

"They're with me!"

The guards turned their attention to the approaching redhead.

SL

Sora straightened her spine as she stood next to the man and his daughter.

"They're here with me," she said, "so you do not need to keep them."

The second guard snorted. Sora recognized him and she withheld the urge to glare at him. He had been the guard to stop her when she first visited her aunt and uncle in their new home.

"Well then, if you say so..." started the second guard in a condescending voice. "Then that is more of a reason for us to turn them away. We can't have even more gypsies entering the town."

Her hand clenched. "You were informed of who I am," she clipped, "Or is your memory so poor that I need to remind you every few months?"

The guard made to step forward when the first guard's arm raised, preventing him from doing so.

"Go on," he blandly said with a dismissive wave as if he were tired of the subject already. "If they cause trouble again, your vouching cannot stop us from throwing them out."

She heard the man with the pale hair take in a breath. She highly doubted they had started the trouble, but the guards were quick to blame others. He's probably upset with the treatment. She could understand that.

So with a nod of her head, she smiled at the father and daughter and motioned them to follow her. The man's eyes narrowed for a moment and then he came, taking hold of the little girl's hand in his right hand. Sora was starting to relax when the second soldier stepped close to the man, causing him to bump into him.

"Watch your step," the guard sneered, "the streets don't take kindly to quarrelsome strangers."

With that, the guards left them to return to their original posts.

SL

When they were out of earshot, Sora spoke.

"It's mainly the guards that are like that," she reassured, "most folks don't mind visitors, especially around festivals."

The man took that in and gave a small nod. "Thank you for the aid." He took a look at the girl to make sure she was fine and then looked back at Sora. "Could you point us in the direction of an inn?"

"It's past the cobblers on the right," she pointed over past the bracelet vendors. "There should be a sign with a bird's nest."

He nodded and then turned towards it.

His cloak swirled and she blinked, having thought she saw the color purple from under the cloak. Only royalty and those working under the Crown are allowed to wear purple. Was he a worker for the Crown?

The little girl waved at her. Sora was just waving back when an exclamation over by the gates had her looking over.

"Someone stole my sash!" cried the guard that had bumped into the man with pale hair.

Her eyes widened as she realized what happened. She stifled a giggle behind her hand.

I suppose he doesn't work for the Crown then.

SL

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AN: This will ideally be seven chapters long, so it's a short story.